Fundamental to the electronics manufacturing industry is the requirement to make a series of electrical connections (e.g., with a solder alloy) to create electrical circuits and ultimately a functional device with final assembly. Wave soldering machines allow a large quantity of electrical connections between various components to be quickly and efficiently made. In a wave soldering machine, an electronic substrate is typically moved by a conveyor on an inclined path past a fluxing station, a preheating station, and a station at which at least one wave of solder is caused to well upwardly through a nozzle and contact various portions of the electronic substrate to be soldered.
Wave soldering machines typically utilize tin-lead alloys as the solder material which has been the industry norm for over 40 years. More recently however, tin-lead alloy solder is being replaced with lead-free alloys. Often, this change is mandated by international legislation. With current wave soldering apparatus and methods, the advent of lead-free solders has led to reduced process yields and increased process costs. The ability of currently available equipment and process techniques to accommodate lead-free solders and newer and more challenging products, regardless of the solder alloy, is limited. Additionally, lead-free solders cost more than do tin-lead or other types of solder. As a result, the desire of wave solder operators and owners to reduce the waste of lead-free solders has increased.